What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 11 July 2012 - 10:21 AM

Hello I'm wanting to create an online game like Mafia wars and the godfather: five families, my question is what code language do I need to learn and do I need a game engine. I will be doing the project on my own and most probably learning as I work on it. I know it will be a big task but it is something I have been wanting to do for a while and no friends are bothered about doing it with me haha!

Also will I need any specific software to develop and create graphics?

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 11 July 2012 - 12:15 PM

Check out the PHP tutorials section. There are tutorials there on creating games like Mafia Wars. Unless you're talking about Mafia Wars II which is graphical then the tutorials will still help but not as much.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 11 July 2012 - 12:20 PM

I don't mean to be rude, but we get so many questions like this. If you're at the point where you don't even know where to begin, you're not at the point where you can pull off a game like this. You're setting yourself up for failure. Tackle a project that is feasible, but a little challenging so you can feel successful about accomplishing it, as well as learn something from it.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 11 July 2012 - 06:35 PM

I would really like to encourage you, but most all the advice you're getting in this thread is "spot on". It's a long and difficult road to produce any video game. Especially maco's advice about starting out with small projects and working up to more and more complicated things is good advice.

That being said, check out Unity as a game engine and C# with XNA as a programming language.

I haven't played the games you're talking about, so I can't really give you specific advice, but maybe check those out via Google and YouTube and see what you think.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 11 July 2012 - 10:23 PM

Novices in game development never understand that some game projects are practically impossible to finish with one programmer for a number of reasons including:

1. The lines of code for the project are potentially huge. This is why game studios hire teams with different specialisms to complete the title; put simply, the 'man hours' you would need to complete this might exceed your life expectancy well into old age, and for some projects that is not an overestimate.

2. You don't have the tools to do the job properly.

3. A team of inexperienced individuals is actually detrimental to the project, because their cumulative lack of knowledge will kill the project before it has even started due to serious errors of judgement and omissions.

Game projects are extremely fragile undertakings that are akin to putting all of your eggs in one basket. Don't approach projects for games that you like to play because you think it looks cool to say you wrote it because it isn't going to happen.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 12 July 2012 - 06:46 AM

@Butch, Yes. You're right. But I also think that naivite is exactly what they need to succeed.

I know that if I had of had any idea what it would have taken to become a musician, I would have never become a musician. Most skills in life are like that. You see a goal, you dream about it, and you pursue it never knowing that it's really about 1000 times more complicated than you ever dreamed it would be. I know I've looked back and said to myself "I'm really glad I had no idea how difficult that was going to be because there is no way I would have started if I had of known."

I think it's really a big part of the process. For the beginner, it's actually kind of a good thing that they don't understand what lies ahead, or they probably would almost never start the journey.

And you learn more from failure than from success. Getting out there and doing it - because you are blissfully unaware of how impossibly difficult what you're attempting is - and falling on your face will bring you much closer to success than making no attempt at all because you are aware of how impossible your goal is.

So, for the beginner, I don't think you can talk sense into them and easily convince them how impossible their goal is. And really, it's probably better for them if you don't. Their drive to accomplish their goal may be doomed to failure, but it also may be exactly what propels them forward to actually spend the time learning from 1000s of failures until they accomplish something substantial. Maybe they'll never accomplish their goal. But maybe the experience from chasing their goal will cause them to eventually set new more attainable goals and achieve something great instead even if it's not what they originally set out to do.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Novices in game development never understand that some game projects are practically impossible to finish with one programmer for a number of reasons including:

The keyword here is some. Not every game in the world needs to be coded by teams of coders, tons of artists, production staff, etc. It is quite possible for one person or a small team to make games. I'm not talking the AAA games you see pumped out by studios. That just isn't practical. They can however make casual games and other games. I wouldn't suggest somebody with no programming knowledge to start out making games. I'd at least expect them to understand their language of choice with intermediate to expert knowledge. However, their passion for games will drive them to try. There is nothing wrong with trying a failing. Nobody gets it right the first time around. You just have to keep trying and eventually you'll get there. Will they make the next Fable, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls? Probably not but the next Angry Birds is quite likely if they keep trying and don't give up at the first failure.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 12 July 2012 - 01:49 PM

Well, that is why I said 'some'. I've written entire games solo, granted as a demo and not to sell. I was also very aware of the complexity involved in making games, having already been a computer science graduate. Where novices start off with their mistakes is trying to mimic games that teams of experienced developers have made, they completely ignore the fact in many cases that their programming knowledge is weak and genuinely have no idea of what's involved, yet they insist they can make the next MMO or whatever.

The way that I approached it was to take a simple 2D game and immediately make it 3D. I did not actually try to mimic an existing 3D title. What the benefit was of this approach was to take a simple 2D game mechanic and apply 3D visuals from the ground up.

No matter how much hope you have, or how strong the desire, if your approach is wrong you will not make your game or make a career in games.

Sorry if it sounds brutal, but I have seen too many fail and spend years chasing an industry that doesn't want them. The approach is vitally important.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

Posted 12 July 2012 - 02:29 PM

I see what you're saying Butch. You can see it everywhere, not just in game development. There are people who are passionate about hockey for instance. A lot of them will ever make it to the big leagues but they still play the game. If the player thinks they should be in the big leagues but just doesn't have what it takes perhaps they should be told so rather than them spending all of their time trying to make it, point taken. Not everybody has the aptitude to be a programmer. Not every programmer has the aptitude to be a game programmer. I'm not say that Butch shouldn't tell it like it is. He knows better than anybody else here what it takes to be a game programmer and what goes into games from conception to finished product. I would just believe in starting them on the path. You never know where that path will lead them.

Re: What do I need to learn to make online game like Mafia wars?

A team of a few hundred people, and only a couple million dollars.
These are very complex games that you are referencing and I think it would be wise to start smaller, much smaller.

If you want to get into game development I would recommend developing for android, it's almost free. The only fee is a one time $20 payment to start a developers account. You need to use java to develop in android.